Website redesign projects are overwhelming. We can all use a little help as we try to overhaul our organization’s most important outreach tool.
When I start a SmartCause Method website redesign project, I create an in-depth website analytics report. The analytics report helps me identify unique opportunities that we can explore, problems that need solving, and pitfalls to avoid.
If you’re planning a website redesign for your organization, follow along with this resource to ensure you’re using web analytics to help you make smart decisions.
Get Your Data in Order
Before you do anything else, make sure you have Google Analytics installed on your current website. It will be helpful to have “before” and “after” data to help you assess the success of your website redesign.
(If you need help getting Google Analytics installed on your current site, sign up for my free three part mini course.)
If you already have Google Analytics installed, then make sure you are tracking the outcomes that you would like to improve with your new site.
For example, if one of your goals is to increase online fundraising, make sure you have configured a Google Analytics Goal for online fundraising on your existing site. The goal will track data to help you determine whether your website redesign helped increase your online fundraising.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Preserving your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) through a website redesign is an important step.
Make sure that you identify the most popular pages on your website. Share the list with your website developer and ask her to make sure each URL on the list forwards to a relevant location on your new website.
Problems to Solve
Each nonprofit website is unique, but almost all nonprofit websites that I’ve ever encountered share one common problem that should be addressed in a website redesign: landing pages with high bounce rates.
Identify the landing pages that are popular and have a bounce rate of 80% or higher. Take a closer look. If that specific page **should** be engaging visitors to keep clicking, share the URL with your web developer and ask her to help you find ways to lower the bounce rate.
Opportunities to Explore
Opportunities are specific to your organization, so I can’t tell you **exactly** where to look.
Opportunities that I’ve seen emerge in Google Analytics data as I prepare for a SmartCause Method website redesign project:
- New search engine queries that are leading people to your website
- Landing pages that suddenly get more traffic (or whose bounce rates/time on site improve)
- Traffic sources that perform better than others for your specific goal (example: Paid advertising getting more people on your email list)
Ready for Help?
If you need help finding the data mentioned above in your Google Analytics account, or help configuring goals to track your outcomes, check out my training: The Complete Google Analytics Toolkit.
If you need help redesigning your nonprofit website, check out my package: The SmartCause Method.
If you’re not sure what you need but you know you want to keep hearing from me, scroll down and sign up to receive a free weekly resource!
